User:Mihail Bakalov/Trimester 4/READING, WRITING AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES/MediaObject
[Steve: why are selfies important to you?
make annotation of the texts you are using here, take the text out of the sketch status and write about your subject. 1st step - annotate the texts you have found and formulate an argument using those texts.]
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I find interesting the points were the selfie is used to depict personal experiences
in a very specific(new) way and create identity. What is the weight of someones personal opinion about him self being represented only by his appearance in a photo. Also what kind of place in society do these images get and establish them selves. The performative aspect of the imaginary realm, presention of a wide extensiveness of activities in connection/comparison to the less and less strive towards content of specific repetitive practices or serious pursuits.
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A Selfie is a photograph taken of oneself, typically done with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. The pictures represent one's experiences usually promoting your self in a positive environment & attitude.
"A subversive form of self-expression that
narrates one's own view of desirability.
In this sense, selfies can be empowering
and offer a way of actively asserting agency."
[[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie | wikipedia-selfie article]]
The selfie is a sub-category of the self-portrait,
which has being practised for a long time, but the
term was invented in the past 10 years.
The journal side of the selfie plays a huge role
in making it become so viral. Nowadays whenever a person, especially
a tourist sees something nice, he/she positions him/her
right in front of it and takes a picture.
"Narcissus, who after glimpsing his reflection in a pond,
falls so deeply in love with it he is unable to leave –
eventually perishing." Erin Cook
The new digital passport is our online social media profile
and there we have our new ID photo (selfies).
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"In the future everyone will be famous for 15 min." Andy Warhol
The transmission of information nowadays helps spreading our own images, but also broadens our visual dictionary, because of the wide access to data. Although the gigantic amounts of info we are still facing template culture problems. The selfies has certain models which they follow,
The same way as many " users of blogs" do not conform to larger ideals but display a culture of " detached engagement" the same is happening to the social eruption of selfies.
"Jodi Dean argues that a new form of " communicative capitalism"
has emerged, where discourse proliferates but is completely devoid
of genuine political potency. Finally, rather than foster new public
engagements, online discussion tends to take place within " echo
chambers " where groups of like-minded individuals, consciously or
not, avoid debate with their cultural or political adversaries."
Networks without a cause - Geert Lovink
" Every girl with her own Wi-Fi connection can become the content, can become a new standard of beauty that is more diverse and flexible than ever before. "
This though doesn't take place in todays online society. Certain patterns of behavior, aesthetics have constructed a role model to follow.
We have moved from an internal oriented culture to an exterior, focused on presenting and marketing ourselves.
Famous people use selfies as a way to bring them down to a normal persons status quo, on the same level, althout most selfies from celebrities are being digitally retouch, so they are directed towards a enhanced promotion(campaign) of their selves
The moving away of the anonymity - people create template images
which differ only in content exluding the person in the picture.
creating trends in certain behavour in front of the camera,
making specific face mimics, behaviour and camera position.
Facebook has certain capabilities of providing space as a blog, where you post your likes, social field where to promote your self and a social network where to communicate with others. This is where the selfie found its perfect habitat.
The 24/7 performance led to the collapse between what is pretending and what is reality. Now as this acting is taken in account from governmental/educational/financial institution the acting has grown in purpoce.
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The DIY concept of this type of photos makes them accessible but also provokes vitriolic backlash stems from the fear of who is both in front of and behind the camera.
The aspects of photograph, isolating only one frame of reality, taking out the past and the future out, thus creating another meaning of the moment. It could be fake or manipulated. Perfectly creating an opportunity to present our selves
The limitations of adequate presentation of photography and video mediums can be compared to the television talk-shows which present people who are telling the story how it really happened.
COMPARISON BETWEEN SELF-PORTRAIT AND SELFIES
James Franco defends the self-portrait stating
they should not be seen as an egocentric act,
but instead a journalistic moment as it cultivates
a "visual culture, the selfie quickly and easily
shows, not tells, how you're feeling, where you
are, what you're doing", much like a
photojournalist image
time-line of the evolution of portrait photography.
1
First the experience when you go to a photography studio to take your portrait. During this process the person has a certain distance in behavior when standing in front of the camera trying to show . The model has to pose, perform in a closed environment in front of the photographer, who is trying to capture something private or natural from the poser.
2
photobooth
This is where the shyness in front of the camera is overcome. Also the amount of time that takes to be accomplished has shrank tremendously. The performative state is done in a closed environment and the outcome is a limited number of unique images which are only to be shared with few people or kept for oneself.
3
selfies
almost the same without the limitation part. unlimited amount of copies. has no space/time boundaries. Gives pulbic distribution of the images allowing instant visibility.
Structure the text
- to add what is it from the side of the person creating it
- what it is from the viewers side
- the merging of the performance in daily life
- the closed bubbles of personal acts / endeavours
- put a timeline of the way portrait photography has gone through the years ( studio portrait - photobooth - selfie ) |also in relation to posing/performance|
READINGS
The Net Delusion - Evgeny Morozov
Open Magazine - issue 8 / 2005
Databaseness - Olga Goriunova
Networks without a cause - Geert Lovink